GOP Farm Bill Victory Could Prove Fruitless

[Purveyor]

House Republican leaders flexed their muscles to push a farm bill to passage this week, but they face major challenges in turning that political victory into a policy achievement.

The bill was approved in a narrow 216-208 vote after GOP leaders bowed to conservative demands and stripped food stamp funding from the legislation. GOP leaders said they would deal with a separate food stamp bill down the road.

But farm groups, including corn and wheat lobbyists who reluctantly supported moving the farm subsidies-only bill in the end, said splitting the bill will make passing a bipartisan House-Senate farm bill harder, and could result in Congress simply extending current law.

Such a result wouldn’t please conservatives, since extending the law won’t cut the deficit.
On top of that, any cuts to food stamps are far from a sure thing and even some Republicans argued that cuts are less likely with a split farm bill.

--CLIP
Agriculture Chairman Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) argued before the Rules Committee Wednesday night that if the farm subsidy-only bill goes to conference, the Senate could offer its food stamp title with only $4 billion in cuts, or offer no cuts at all.

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/agriculture/310791-gop-farm-bill-victory-could-prove-fruitless#ixzz2Z3stnrPT

[Tx4obama]

1. Durbin: Senate won’t touch split farm bill

DU LBN OP here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014537500

Looks like it is dead

[X_Digger]

2. *groan* -- "fruitless"? n/t

[life long demo]

3. We know how terrible it was that they removed the food stamp

part from the bill instead of fixing it. But I also would like to add that I think the amendment that Rep. King put in is still in the bill. Briefly

"The “King Amendment” would have forbidden states from applying safety & welfare regulations to any “agricultural products” from out of state, including animals raised for food, eggs, milk and even puppies and kittens sold to pet stores. This would have nullified many of the hard-fought victories won by animal advocates to protect calves, hens, pregnant sows, and other animals, such as California’s foie gras ban, its passage of the historic Proposition 2, as well as state laws cracking down on puppy mills, banning horsemeat and even dog meat sales . . . all could all have been eliminated by the current U.S. Farm Bill containing the King Amendment. Outside the animal realm, the “King Amendment” also would scale back child nutritional requirements."

http://aldf.org/blog/legally-brief-the-fate-of-animal-cruelty-in-u-s-agricultural-bills/

[bluestate10]

4. Funny how republicans are for "State's Rights" when being so suits their political end goals.

Republicans are for small government when it doesn't get in their way as they attempt to regulate how women manage their reproductive facilities, or when citizens that don't buy into republican dogma attempt to exercise their right to vote. The small government party is nothing but a fucking nest of two-faced liars and hypocrites.